I’m off to the craft supershow today and tomorrow so I won’t be around to post as much. I hoping that I come back with tons of frugal crafty ideas for you guys though. I’ll be sure to fill you all in on the fun that my Mom and I have and we’ll see if Shawn can behave himself for 2 whole days and ride around with us. I’m not placing any bets there but we’ll see.

I hope you all have a great weekend and I’ll pop in when I get a chance to say HI and see what goodies you guys have put up on your blogs.

We were all out of bread and Shawn was set on having peanut butter and fluff for lunch. So I went searching for a good sandwich bread recipe and found one.

The recipe makes 2 loaves and I only had one loaf pan so I made a loaf and 6 bsicuits. I should have made more biscuits because these things got huge.

I was surprised at how well it cut. If I had a better bread knife and a little more experience shaping the bread it would have been even better. Next time I’m going to make sure that the top is nice and even. But it made some good biscuits and Shawn enjoyed his sandwich. If I get a chance this weekend I’ll post the recipe so you guys can try this out for yourselves.

I got 3 zucchini, 8 limes, 1 lemon, 6 ripe peaches and a big basket of cherries. The peaches were overripe but I got them for $1 so as soon as we got home I sliced them and froze them. They should be great in shakes or muffins. In total I spent $5!!!! I was buying the peaches and the man selling gave Shawn a cherry he always gives Shawn a different treat and most of the time he doesn’t like them but this time he did so I splurged and got the cherries too. Now just to figure out what to do with them other than letting him eat them as is.

This is the never say die pepper plant. Truthfully it’s ugly!!! It’s produced about 2 dozen peppers and is still producing.

The plant on the left is Malabar Spinach. It’s grows like a weed and tastes very good. The one on the right is the Mr I’m never gonna produce Stripey tomato. I’ve given up hope on him but he has been growing very large.

The pic on the right is my Yellow Pear Tomato plant. It’s also been producing very well for me.

Here’s my finally producing zucchini. I threatened to dig him up a couple of weeks ago and it must of heard me and all of a sudden it’s started to produce.

The left would be my topsy turvy cherry tomato plant. The best I can tell you is that it is absolutely huge. It has several little tomatoes on it. The topsy turvy has gotten mynote of approval and I might even buy another one. The right is my black bean plant it has grown into the topsy turvy above it. I’m so excited about the beans, they seem to be growing well and I’ll be planting some more now that I now how well it grows.

We decided to head out to Fridays for dinner last night and had a decent time. If you aren’t a Friday’s Stripes member sign up before your next visit, you earn points for each dollar spent and when you get to 100 points you get $8 off your next meal.

So we head out with the BOGO free Entree coupon that they emailed me at the beginning of the month and the $8 off coupon. Since we had both coupons we planned on each getting a beer and maybe an appetizer along with our 3 entrees. I tell the server when he comes over that we have both coupons and he proceeds to talk over me and tell me I can’t use them both and then tells me that the $8 off is better than the BOGO and basically walks away. Now if we weren’t so hungry this is where I normally would have left but I didn’t want to go wait somewhere else. So Dave and I agreed no appetizer and no drinks 3 waters and 3 meals and that was it.

Dave ordered a cheesy bacon burger that he said was super yummy and I got the Parmesan Crusted Chicken which is delicious. Of course Shawn got the kids Mac and Cheese and had it gone within 5 minutes of hitting the table. Since the server was so rude and no attentive he wasn’t going to get much of a tip and I was going to email them about the service later. The manager happened to be stuck as bus boy and came over to clean up the plates. I talked to him about the server (which seemed to be a repeat offender) and showed him my coupons. He agreed that I should use them both as one is an earned reward and the other is just a perk so he took the coupons and reminded the server that next time he should ask before ticking off the customer.

Long story short(ish) LOL!! The server’s attitude saved us some money. After both coupons our total was $7.xx and since the server ran off with my receipt with the free app coupon on it before I left a tip I just rounded up and he got a $2.xx tip. I felt a little badly for the tip since you should tip on the prediscounted amount but he took my receipt so OH well. It was a nice cheap dinner that was super yummy!!!

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If you are looking to lose a little weight these might be worth checking out. If you’ve got the time to go somewhere try the Curves program (I’ve heard great things about their programs) if you' have no time (like most of us) give the second one a shot.

So I just wanted to ask and see what everyone thought of the knitting project and if anyone had any requests in other crafting areas. I’m going to post things in all of my crafting specialties, but if you’ve got a favorite maybe I could do a couple extras in that area. The only thing you won’t see me doing is crocheting. I know how to crochet a granny square and that’s about it, so I can’t share any knowledge there. But ask me about simple quilting, all difficulties in scrapbooking, card making, paper crafts, stitching, sewing, beading, knitting, and some woodcrafts and I’ll probably have ideas abounding. I have a bit of crafters ADD so my interests are wide and if something has me excited we are golden.

I’m also thinking about doing a Christmas gift giveaway with either the parts to make one of the crafts I talk about or the craft itself. Does anyone have any suggestions on that ie what would you rather get? Thanks for all your inputs, it really helps me to make this a better blog for all of you guys.

I've been a member with Nielsen for quite awhile and I personally love this program. You get points for sharing your purchases with them. The points are redeemable for all sorts of great stuff. Go here and sign up now before this offer gets filled up. It's a great way to earn a few extra goodies and to speak for your household!!!!

I’ve only ever used the blogger tools for my postings but the new laptop had Windows Live Writer installed on it so I’m giving it a try. I’ll let you know how it works out for me, if it’s super easy I’ll be so happy. It seems like it will be much easier to add pics, links, and video.

I’m also officially wireless so you’ll probably start to see me post more often. Before I’d be glued to the desktop for all my posts and sometimes I’d want to post but didn’t want to go over in the warm corner. I’m so excited!!!!

Tomorrow is FREE Mocha Mondays at McDonalds. Head over and get your 7oz iced or 8oz hot Mocha. The offer is good from 7am to 7pm and requires no additional purchase.

Last week we went through the drive thru and they just asked how many and hot or cold so Dave and I each got one hot. Tomorrow I think he'll get an iced and I'll get a hot one. He doesn't drink coffee anyways but I don't know if I like the iced ones.

Here's the first easy frugal Christmas idea I have for you guys. If you don't know how to knit ask around or check out this site. They have some great tips and make it easy to teach yourself. The yarn for this project is on sale this week at Michaels for $1.25 there is also a 40% off coupon in the ad if you need to purchase a set of needles. Be sure to ask your friends and family first they might have some that you can borrow or even have.

You will need 1 skein of Cotton Yarn and 1 set of needles size 6, 7 or 8 which is what I used.Cast on 4 stitches and knit 1 rowRow 2: Knit 2, Yarn Over, Knit Across

Repeat row 2 until you have 44 stitches on the needle. It'll look a little like the below picture.Row 3: Knit 1, Knit 2 together, Yarn Over, Knit 2 together, knit across (this will eliminate one stitch for each row but still give you the border pattern)

Repeat row 3 until you only have 4 stitches left on your needle and bind off.I know that if you've never knitted before this might seem a little overwhelming but trust me this is a great starter pattern. This is the first one I did too! If you mess up a few times it's not the end of the world you are just using this to do the dishes. LOL I made a bunch my first time and the first one (that was full of dropped stitches) I still use on my dishes. The second one came out much better and I gave it away. By the way I probably have enough yarn left to make 1 more washcloth.

If you guys like the knitting project let me know. I have patterns and ideas for a whole set to give as a beautiful meaningful gift. Well I hope you enjoyed your first walk through of a cheap crafty gift idea. I'm going to a huge craft show next weekend so maybe I'll come home with lots of ideas.

I'll post more about this tomorrow or Monday but I wanted you guys to be prepared. There's another great 3 day sale going on for more free school supplies. Remember to check in the stationary aisles and up front in the seasonal stuff for these products since they seem scattered. Also get rainchecks when you can't get your freebies.

Make sure you get out early and get your stuff or your rainchecks. This stuff is sure to go fast but if it's gone just get the rainchecks. Since you'll most likely need to get a RC for something my tip is to keep the ad and cut out what the product and staple it to the RC that way you know exactly what you are looking for when you go looking. Hopefully you have an ECB from last week left to keep your out of pocket spending low but if not start small and roll your ECB.

After taking a quick look through the ad here's what I'll be looking at this week. As always feel free to point out a deal I've missed. Summer is hectic around here and I've haven't been focusing as well as I should.

Mott's Apple Juice BOGO $2.99 I don't think there are any coupons out for this but we are out of regular juice just have juice boxes and koolaid so I'll probably just get 2 and wait for a better deal

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter BOGO $2.59 I know somewhere I have coupons for this but it won't be free and after the Smart Balance deal I might actually pass on this

StarKist SeaSations Fish Fillets BOGO $5.99 There were recently $3 off coupons for these. I don't know how they taste yet (dinner tonight) but I've heard good things and free is free.

There are lots of other great BOGO's this week but none that I'm really interested in unless of course they are freebies or nearly free. Let me know what you find.

Don't forget today is Free Mocha Monday. Stop in to your local McDonalds for a 7-8oz sample size iced or hot mocha. Make sure you take non mocha loving friends with you since 8 oz isn't very big. LOL

Tomorrow if your Mocha/Coffee urge hasn't been filled head over to Starbucks and get yourself a free pastry before 10:30am. You need to print this coupon and take it with you or show them the coupon on your phone.

Since I'm in a freebie mood head over to Walmart.com for these freebies

If you don't have a Staples Rewards card now is the time to go get one. You get paid quarterly for ink cartridge returns ($3 each upto 10 a month), paper rewards and any other deals they have.

This week they are running a special where you can purchase any Backpack and they will credit you the full purchase price through the Staples Rewards. You have to wait until October to receive your payment for it but it's great if you need the backpack anyways or if you have a little extra cash they certainly need backpacks at the school supply drives.

Looks like a pretty good week. My experience with the Easy Rebates has been really good. They pay quickly and are super easy to do online. So go pick up a few free supplies for the kids or pick them up for the supply drives, as I said earlier with the economy in the can there will be more people needing this year than before.

Do you have kids? Do you think of yourself as a good/helpful person? If you answered yes to either of these questions get going to CVS!!!! They have some great deals on Back to School Supplies. You can get pencils, filler paper, binders, pens and small memo books for free until Tuesday at CVS!!!

If you are new to CVS check the post below to get a newbie course for little OOP. I wrote out a cheap and easy way to get everything this week for $3 OOP with a $3 ECB in your hand when you are done.

If you've got kids you know this stuff is really needed. If you don't have kids go buy your limits for all of this stuff leave it in your car for a week or two and I think you'll easily come across several school supply drives. Schools/Familys really need the help this year with so many people out of jobs or having their hours cut anything you can do to help will be a huge help. Back to school stuff gets expensive and the supply drives are going to need lots of donations this year to help out all the families in need who simply can not afford all the expense this year. So please if you don't have kids think of the people who need the help and go load up a donation box with the great freebies.

I don't think I've ever done a CVS for beginners post but with the great 3 day sale this week it's needed. So here's a quick simple set of transactions that will keep your out of pocket spending low. This requires you to make 10 purchases (if they have everything in stock which they won't). If you have people behind please let them go ahead if you have several transactions also let the cashier know that you've got several purchases and you want to use the ECB's from each transaction to pay for the next. They will understand and if they give you trouble stand your ground don't let them bully you and if all else fails ask for a manager and explain you want to buy this stuff but you're going to use the ECB's to pay for it.

Whew!! There you have it a cheap easy way to get started. They won't have everything in stock unless you get really lucky. So make sure that you get rainchecks for what they don't have so you can get your free stuff later. If you got everything you'd have $17.94 worth of school supplies for $3 + tax plus have a $3 ECB left.

There is lots that you can do with that $3 ECB you have. There are several ECB deals that are $2.99 (you can do these just ask them to adjust it down or pick up a cheap filler). You can also save the ECB for next week or later in the week for your FREE photo movie disc. Check back later this week for some tips on that. So now you have an easy roadmap to get your free stuff what are you waiting for? Get going this is a 3 day sale it won't last long, OK stop reading and starting moving. GO!!!!

Since I've been sick all week I haven't gotten out to CVS much. I went for the 3 day at the beginning of the week but hadn't gone back. So I went tonight and did all the photo books. Here's where the pennies went

My Card5 Photo Books2 Spongebob Cookies

Total OOP $1.04

Other Card5 Photo Books

Total OOP $.02

I paid for each book individually with the ECB's from the book before. I of course paid for the first book on each card with ECB's from the 3 day sale and I now have a $7.99 on each card.

This is a great idea for Christmas Gifts I know it's late now but I was talking about cheap gifts and these are great gifts. Next week they have another deal that is a great gift as well so check back. I promise I'll get to it earlier next week.

I finally got my hands on a Publix ad last night and sat down to go through it and post my What Looks Good this Week deals and it's awfully BLAH!!!!!!

So it looks like I'll go and pick up a few boxes of Zatarain's BOGO $1.99 but that will probably be about it. If you see anything that looks good or a good match up please please let me know. Otherwise I'll be taking the week basically off from Publix and hoping for a better week next week.

So I've been thinking and trying to decide if I should add a monthly/biweekly post on some great frugal Christmas Ideas. Since it's July it's time to start thinking about Christmas gifts. If you start shopping now you can get the best prices and you have tons of time to make gifts. In my experience homemade gifts from the heart are much more appreciated and loved then store bought.

Since I'm one of the crafty folks in my little world I was wondering if anyone would be interested in a series of posts with gift ideas? I could do 1 or 2 a month for the next few months to help you get on your feet and start filling in Christmas gifts for your family. Leave me a comment and let me know if you'd be interested. Even if you aren't registered you can leave an anonymous comment. I don't want to bother if it's not of interest but if you guys want some ideas I'd be happy to share ideas and detailed instructions. Depending on the gift I might make them before I post just to help my Christmas list which would also make super easy for me to answer any questions you might have.

This Saturday there will be a Spongebob 10th anniversary celebration at Border's. Join them for a Day of Happiness with stories, games, giveaways and more!!! Spongebob will not be attending this event but it still looks like a lot of fun. I'll be taking my little Spongebob nut if I'm feeling better. The event starts at 2pm and you can get all the info here and double check to make sure your store is participating.

I've heard from a few that this really works and you just have to be attentive to your mail. You pay a $2.95 trial fee and you'll receive a $25 gift card to Target AND a $25 gift card to Starbucks. If you don't happen to drink coffee or shop at Target (gasp) these would make great gifts to put away. From everything I've heard you'll get a welcome type packet and then a few days later you'll get an address verification form. Once you send the verification form in you'll receive your gift cards. Make sure you cancel within 30 by simply calling or emailing them and you won't be charged otherwise they charge a monthly fee of $9.95 if you like their services. I didn't sign up last time this was available but I am signing up this time. $2.95 for $50 in gift cards is a great deal!!!!!! So go here quickly before this offer expires.

I'm so excited to be able to bring you this great money making opportunity. They send emails and you get points per click on the emails which is super easy and literally takes about 2 minutes a day, there are also points for shopping as well as some great coupons available for your online shopping. And of course when you want to redeem your points there are lots of great rewards waiting for you. Go here and sign up today it's simple and quick and it's another great opportunity to make a little extra money online.

I recommend when signing up for this offer or any other offers online that you keep a separate email address just for these emails. I use gmail and have accounts for my blog, personal, junk offers, and one money making ways. Be sure to sign up and let me know what you think.

Are you like me and have an adorable child? Maybe just an exceptionally cute kid? Or maybe just a kid that makes the silliest faces that you want to share. The Picture People are offering a free Portrait Package here.

Ok so I know it's the 5th but here's my recap from last month and my goals for this month.

We have been doing better at not spending much extra and most of the bigger purchases we made last month were planned things. I'd like to improve on this during July. As I said our savings goals have changed quite a bit and we are still working. We added $355 to the saving account last month and that's great compared to previous months but I'd like to add more this month. In order to do that I'm going to be shopping less. I will most certainly buy as many free things as I can to stock up for the yard sale this fall. I make great money selling my stockpile and that money will go towards savings this time.

I had lots of slip ups last month and wasn't keeping up with my totals on the side but I'm starting fresh and I'm going to try again. Since I've never kept track of all my purchases this is a learning curve for me. If I keep getting better I'll go back to accounting for every penny again but for now I'm going to focus on grocery and H&B purchases, my savings through sales and coupons, and on what we've added to savings.

I haven't been shopping this month yet so all my totals are at zero. That will be changing very soon though. LOL Feel free to share your tips, tricks, and goals with me it's so inspirational to hear how you all are doing. I'm going back to cleaning and tending my container garden (it's getting a much needed rearranging and some love today) I'll post some pics when it's done to share with you all.

I won't be around today to post my weekly recap but check back tomorrow for it. We are heading out to Daytona in a bit and won't be back till late tonight. Have a great start to your weekend!!!! I might check in via Twitter if I get to do any shopping today.

Go here and sign up for the fantastic Kraft First Taste program!!! They have offers for great coupons you can only get by being a member and from time to time they offer free product coupons in return for your opinion!!! What could be better than trying out great stuff before anyone else?